I’ve put up four photos of Lake Shinji here. Lake Shinji is immediately next to Matsue. The residents of Matsue are very proud of Lake Shinji, and rightfully so. It is very pretty, even though we didn’t see the crimson sunsets for which it is renowned.
It is connected to another lake which is in turn connected to the ocean. Hence Lake Shinji has a varying level of salinity and hence is home to both freshwater and saltwater creatures. At some point in Matsue’s history it was somehow established that seven of these creatures are considered delicacies. These delicacies are mentioned in tourist guides, on menus, etc. and hence we ended up committing them to memory. They are: eel, bass, smelt, whitebait, shrimp, clams, and
um…
I’ve forgotten one… Oh yes, carp. [I had to ask Tracie for help.] I don’t think that I actually had any of the seven while there, although I did have a sample of another local food: flying-fish sausage. It wasn’t bad but it was a little chewy, honestly.
I’m not sure about the name. As far as I know, the literal translation of “shinji” would be “new temple”.
